Like Ruta Sepetys for middle grade, Anne Blankman pens a poignant and timeless story of friendship that twines together moments in underexplored history.
On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?
Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.
In the powerful conclusion to Robin LaFever's New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.
She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind, doesn’t mean she has.
Critically acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix continues her best-selling Missing series with Sent. Just as best friends Chip and Jonah discover they' re actually children kidnapped from history, they get sent back to their proper time period. Now in the 15th century, Jonah realizes he' s Edward V, the king of England, and Chip is his younger brother Richard, the Duke of York. Both boys know they need to find a way home fast, because they know their history-- Edward and Richard were murdered.
Soma's mother, T.M. Song, was a storyteller and this is a tale she used to tell her daughters when they were little girls. Her mother had told it to her when she was growing up in a rural village in Korea during the reign of King Kojong.. The underlying lesson is filial piety, respect for one's parents, presented in an engrossing Oriental Cinderella story..
This title won the 2014 Morning Calm Medal, voted first by upper elementary students in 12 International Schools across South Korea.. (To view the 99-second trailer visit YouTube.com and enter Maya and the Turtle.)
Jennifer Holm's New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor Winner is the story of a summer of adventures and secrets that will change everything, at a time in America’s history, just after World War II, when being Italian-American meant confronting prejudice because you'd been the enemy not that long ago .
It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her dog, Scarlett O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her best friend is turning into a criminal. And no one will tell Penny the truth about how her father died.
Inspired by three time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm’s own Italian American family, Penny from Heaven is a story about families—about the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together.
"Holm impressively wraps pathos with comedy in this coming-of-age story, populated by a cast of vivid characters."—Booklist
'As I see it,' said Max, 'all that stands between humankind and the end of the world is two talking monkeys, a crazy archaeologist covered in red paint, and a couple of kids with blowguns. Am I right?'
Fourteen-year-old Max Murphy, video-gamer extraordinaire, is furious when his archaeologist parents cancel the family vacation to go on a dig in Central America. But things go from bad to worse when Max is summoned to join them, only to discover that his parents have vanished. With the help of Lola, a fast-talking, quick-thinking Maya girl, Max embarks on a quest to find out just what's going on. Soon Max and Lola are running for their lives in the perilous rainforest, as they unlock ancient secrets, meet mysterious strangers, and begin to understand that, in San Xavier, nothing is ever as it seems.
Fate has delivered a challenge of epic proportions to Max Murphy. But can a teen whose biggest talent is for video games rescue his parents from the Maya Underworld and save himself from the villainous Lords of Death?
Fans of Karen Cushman's witty, satisfying novels will welcome Meggy Swann, newly come to London with her only friend, a goose named Louise. Meggy's mother was glad to be rid of her; her father, who sent for her, doesn't want her after all. Meggy is appalled by London,dirty and noisy, full of rogues and thieves, and difficult to get around in - not that getting around is ever easy for someone who walks with the help of two sticks.Just as her alchemist father pursues his Great Work of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy finds herself pursuing her own transformation. Earthy and colorful, Elizabethan London has its dark side, but it also has gifts in store for Meggy Swann.From the Compact Disc edition.
Oliver Twist runs away from the brutality of the workhouse only to find himself taken in by a gang of thieves run by the devilish Fagin, his violent side-kick Bill Sikes and the irrepressible Artful Dodger. Rescued from London's dingiest and darkest dens but then forced to help in a violent burglary, Oliver's chances of survival are slim, and his chances of happiness almost nil. But one member of the gang risks everything to save him – and loses everything as a result. Roy McMillan combines an abridged version of Dickens's novel with his own helpful explanations to retell the story for younger listeners.
Wild Canada geese. That's what 16-year-old Lucy Spencer and her family call the runaway slaves who ocassionally hide in their Ohio home. But when Lucy becomes involved in a daring rescue attempt, she learns the ultimate meaning of sacrifice. Popular young adult novelist and author of The Family Tree , Katherine Ayres takes readers back in time for an adventure of great courage and compassion.
When 11-year-old Mandie Shaw's father dies, her life reaches a low point. Unwanted by a mother who has never loved her, the only things she looks forward to are visits from the man she calls "Uncle Ned"-a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. Longing for a home where she will be truly loved, Mandie seeks out family she has never met. After a perilous journey, she finds herself in the middle of luxury she can scarcely believe-and a mystery that will take all her brains and courage to solve. With turn-of-the-century North Carolina as her backdrop, Lois Leppard explores issues of race, religion, and family in this novel of a young girl's search to unravel the mystery of her identity. Kate Forbes' narration brilliantly brings life to the colorful characters and many twists Mandie encounters in this first book of a best-selling inspirational series.
History is dramatic—and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in a compelling series aimed at young readers. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes, and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation.
In Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War, the authors explain the occurrences in America during the thirty years between 1831 and 1861. This book discusses the attitudes and events that led up to and caused the Civil War in America, particularly the institution of slavery, the Abolitionist movement, and the rise of Abraham Lincoln.
A Newbery Honor BookAn ALA-ALSC Notable Children's BookWinner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Novel An adventure, a mystery, and a love song to the natural world. . . . Run out and read it. Right now. Newbery Medalist Karen CushmanIn the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things: her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly.But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of 'pigeoners' trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown everyone assumes the worst.Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her sister. She will track every last clue and shred of evidence to bring Agatha home. Yet even with resolute determination and her trusty Springfield single-shot, Georgie is not prepared for what she faces on the western frontier.From the Hardcover edition.
